Rail-joint.



S. W. T. SWILL.

. RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED MAP..4,1914y Patented Mar.9,1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

fr? H l S. W. T. SWILL.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.4.1914

Patented Ma119, 1915.

2 SHBETS-SHEBT 2.

SAVIOR W. T. SWILL, OF HUNKERS, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 9, 1915..

Application led March 4, 1914. Serial No. 822,498.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, SAvioR W. T. SwiLL, a subject of the King of italy, residing at Hunkers, in the county of Westmoreland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new vand useful Improvements `in Rail- Joints, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in means for connecting the meeting ends of two rails.

In carrying out my invention it is my purpose to provide a chair upon which the rail ends rest and to associate with the chair brace members or blocks which so engage with the rails as to support and reinforce the same, and hold the said rails against either' longitudinal or lateral movement as well as to retain the heads of the rails flush to prevent one sinking below the other, and so join the ends as to produce a substantially continuous rail and track.

I also propose to construct a rail chair of a particular and peculiar formation and to provide the same with rail brace members, both removably arranged upon the chair, one being formed with integral means whereby the saine is normally retained locked upon the chair, the other being wedgeshaped and adapted to be slid longitudinally between the rail and chair, while a locking lfey of a particular construction is employed for retaining this last mentioned member upon the chair and in tight engagement with the rails.

Other objects and advantages of the improvement will present themselves as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein there is illustrated a satisfactory reduction of the improvement to practice, the nature of the invention, however, being such that the saine is susceptible of slight changes and modifications, all of which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a top plan view illustrating two rails connected in accordance with my improvement, Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the chair, Fig. 4 is atransverse sectional view on the line I l of Fig. l, Fig. 5 is a similar sectional View upon the line 5 5 of Fig. 1, Fig. 6 is a perspective view looking toward the inner face of one of the reinforcing bars, Fig. 7 is a similar view looking toward the outer face of the second and wedge reinforcing bar, Fig. 8 is aside view of the locking key, and Fig. 9 is a sectional View of the same approximately on the line 9 9 of Fig. 8.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, R- R designates the ends of two ordinary rails which are adapted to be connected by my improvement.

rI he numeral 1 designates a chair upon which the rails rest. The chair l includes a base 2 which is flat or horizontally straight and whichv has its longitudinal edges formed with vertical projections 3 3, the saine having their inner faces formed with inturned flanged portions 4 which overlie the base 2, and arising from the said ianges 4 areivertical extensions 5. The outer walls ofi-the extensions 5, atthe upper portions thereof, are arranged parallel with the inner faces of the said members for a slight but suitable distance, the said straight portions being indicated by the numerals 6, while the outer wall from the portions 6 to the chairbase is rounded outwardly, as indicated by the numerals 7. The side member of the chair, thus, provided, on one of the longitudinal edges of the base 2 has its vertical walls 3 and 5 arranged parallel with the outer longitudinal edges of the base or at a right angle to the ends of the base, and this side of the chair, which may be, for the sake of convenience, indicated broadly by the character S, has the inner face of its vertical portion 5, at suitable spaced intervals provided with depressions 8, the same being preferably hemi-spherical in formation, and arranged upon the chair and adapted to co-act with the inner walls of the side-S is a bracebar 9. The bar 9 has its lower face formed with an angular depression l0, so that the base flanges of the rails, upon this side of the joint, may be accommodated, andthe outer face of the bar 9 is formed, at its lower corner, with an angular wall or shoulder 11 which underlies and is contacted by the angular wall or flange 4 of the side S, the outer wall of the member 9, above the portion ll being vertically straight to coincide with the shape of the wall 5 with which it engages, and the said vertically straight outer face oli' the said member 9 is provided with projections or teats V12, the saine being preferably hemispherical in formation, corresponding in number with the depressions 8, and within which the said teats are adapted to be received. rl'he vertical outer wall or" the member 9 terminates with the top of the side S, but the inner face of the block 9 is of a width equaling the distance between the head and base flanges of the rail, so that the block fully fills the Fishing space of the rails, an angular wall 18 connecting the inclined wall which provides the terminal of the outer face of the block, and by reference to Figs. 4 and 5 oi the drawings, it will be noted that the said wall 18 does not project beyond the face of the sides of the rail heads. The inner wall of the bar 9 is channeled longitudinally, as at 14, the said channel, however, being interrupted, at spaced intervals, by integrally formed members 15 which are disposed flush with the inner face of the said bar 9, and each of the members 15 has extending laterally therefrom lugs 16, which are preferably cylindrical, and which are adapted to be inserted within the bolt openings 17 in the webs of the rails R-R.

The opposite side of the chair, which is broadly indicated by the character Sa has its inner walls or faces 8 and 5 respectively beveled or inclined from one of the ends of the chair to the opposite end thereof, so that a wedge-shaped passage is provided between the said side S and the rails R-R. This passage is adapted to receive therein the second and wedge-shaped brace bar 18 of the joint. The brace bar 18 is substan* tially similar in construction to the brace bar 9, except that the outer vertical walls are beveled or inclined from one of the ends of the bar to its second end, to correspond with the beveled or inclined walls 8 and 5 upon the side Sa. The inner face of the member 18 is channeled throughout, as indicated by the numeral 19, and the inner corner of the said member is provided with an upwardly projecting portion or crest 20 which is arranged above the terminal of thev outer wall 21 of the said member 18, the member 20 corresponding with the member 18 of the bar 9, and the member 21 corresponding with the vertical wall provided with teats 12 of the said bar 9, the wall 21 having its lower portion provided with an angular shoulder 22, similar to the shoulder 11. The shoulder 22V extends beyond the rail receiving channel 28 of the wedge member 18 a greater distance than does the shoulder 11 project beyond the outer wall of the channel 10 and the overlying portion or flange 4 of the side Sa is lcorrespondingly lengthened. This arrangement is necessary in order to permit of the rails being removed from theV chair and disconnected Jfrom the bar 9, when such an occasion arises. In such instances the wedge block 18 is moved longitudinally out of the chair. The rails R are moved laterally of the chair to have their base flanges arranged within or near the channel provided between the angular wall 4 and the base 2 at the side Sa of the chair. A pinch bar or similar instrument may be inserted within the channel 14 at the ends of the bar 9 to force the lugs 16 out of engagement with the walls of the openings 17 of the webs of the rails, when the rails may be removed from the chair without interfering with the bar 9, or if desired both the bar 9 and the rails may be simultaneously removed, in which instance it is merely necessary to move the bar laterally to bring its teats 12 out of the depressions 8.

The wedge bar 18 is provided at its ends with heads or bosses 24 and 25, the same being provided to receive the impact of force when a blow from a hammer, or the-like, is delivered to the ends of the said bar 18 to forcethe same into engagement with the walls of the side S and the rails, or to move p the bar in an opposite direction when desired, and in order to provide for the locking of the bar 18 upon the chair in an adjusted position, the outer wall 21, of the said bar,

adjacent the wider end thereof is provided with a series of vertically disposed, approximately semi-cylindrical depressions 26. Any number of these depressions 26 may be arranged upon the wall 21, the said depressions communicating with round openings 27 formed in the flange or shoulder 22 of the bar 18. The base 2 of the chair at the reduced end of the side Sa is formed with a plurality of spaced circular openings 28, the same being arranged all in the same line and the distance between the said openings increases toward the outer end of the chair, and the under-face of the base 1 is reamed at the openings 28, or the lower walls provided by the opening are countersunk, as indicated by the numerals 29. lVhen the wedge bar 18 has been properly adjusted upon the chair, and one of the depressions 26 is brought into register with the proper opening 28, a key 80 is passed through one of the depressions 26 and a corresponding depression 81 formed upon the inner face of the wall 5 of the side Sa, and which forms a continuation of the openings 28, the key passing through the registering opening 27 and 28 and thus retaining the wedge bar or block upon the chair. The key 80, illustrated in detail in Figs. 8 and 9 is of a peculiar construction, the same including a head 82, a rounded shank 88 which is slotted from its lower end to provide a pair of spaced legs 84 and 85, the shank 88 at the juncture of the legs therewith being beveled inwardly from opposite directions between the said legs, as indicated by the numeral 36, and the said legs have their lower edges beveled or rounded from their sides toward their ends, as indicated by the numerals 37, while the inner faces of the said legs from their lower ends are beveled inwardly to their inner fiat faces, as indicated by the numerals'40. It should be stated that a supporting tie T is arranged beneath the chair at each end thereof, and when the key 30 is driven, the inclined and beveled ends of the legs being forced against the said tie will spread in opposite directions, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. It should further be stated that the legs 34 and 35 of the key are formed of some malleable or bendable material, and by providing the countersinks 29 the same serve as guiding means for drawing or forcing the legs toward each other when a suitable tool or instrument is employed to withdraw the key, and further the said countersinks permit of the ready spreading of the legs of the key when the said key is positioned.

The base 2 of the chair, at the opposite ends thereof, has formed thereon lateral eX- tensions or lugs 4l, the same being provided with notches 42, for the reception of securing spikes, indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. l and designated by the numerals 43.

rlhe numerals 44 designate reinforcing ribs which connect with the walls 6 and with the lugs 4l, the said ribs being preferably rounded in cross section and being arched to correspond with the outer wall 7 of the side, and the ribs are, of course, arranged at one side of the openings 42 in the lugs 4l.

In order to eeetively reinforce the chair at the central portion thereof and at a point where the ends of the rails meet, I provide the same with reinforcing ribs 45 which are of a greater width and strength than the ribs 44, these ribs 45 extending below the base 2 of the chair and forming a continuation of a transversely disposed depending brace plate 46, the outer edges of the same being rounded to agree with the archshaped ribs 45. The plate 46 is formed with the chair, and is provided with longitudinally extending webs 47-47, arranged in spaced relation with each other and positioned upon the chair at points approximately opposite the longitudinal edges of the base flanges of the rails when the rails are arranged upon the chair. The webs 47 have their lower edges inclined upwardly in opposite directions from the opposite faces of 'the plate 46, as clearly shown in F ig. 2 of the drawings, and from the above description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the simplicity of the device, as well as the advantages thereof, will it is thought, be perfectly apparent to those skilled in the art to which such invention appertains without further detailed description.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is 1. In a rail joint, a chair having longitudinally arranged sides, the outer walls of which being arched, the inner walls of the sides having a channel at their juncture with the base of the chair and the said inner walls being disposed at a right angle to the base, the inner wall of one of the sides being inclined from one of the ends of the chair to the opposite end thereof, rails resting upon the base between the sides, a brace bar for each of the sides and engaging with the opposite sides of the rails and both of the brace bars having their outer faces complementa-ry to the inner face of the side upon which it is arranged, integrally formed means upon one of the brace bars for retaining the same upon the side, the other brace bar having its outer face at its enlarged end provided with spaced depressions, the wall of the side having similar depressions, the base having openings which register with certain of the depressions, a key adapted to be arranged within two of the registering depressions to pass through one of the openings in the base, and said key having its shank formed with spaced malleable legs which are adapted to be spread in opposite directions below the base of the chair.

2. In a rail joint, a chair having a base upon which the rail ends rest, said base having integral sides and being provided at its corners with slotted lugs which project beyond the sides, the chair having end and central reinforcements, the central reinforcements having longitudinally extending webs which are spaced, the sides being provided each with a channel at its juncture with the base and being arranged vertically with respect to the horizontal base, the inner wall of one of the sides being inclined from one end to its second end, brace bars having their inner faces formed to engage with the iinishing spaces of the rails and their outer faces agreeing with the inner faces of the sides, one of the said bars having projecting studs which enter the bolt openings in the webs of the rails, the said member having its outer face formed with teats which engage within the depressions in the side of the chair, the second member hav ing its outer face at its enlarged end provided with spaced depressions, the inner wall of the side being provided with simi lar depressions arranged to register with one of the depressions in the brace, the base of the chair having spaced openings, one of which adapted to register with the registering depressions, the said openings being countersunk at the under-face of the base, ties supporting the chair at the opposite ends thereof, headed keys having slotted In testimony whereof I aiix my signashanks adapted to .be arranged Within the ture in presence of two Witnesses. registering depressions and to pass through SAVIOR W. T. SWILL. one of the openings in base and to be spread Witnesses:

in opposite directions and forced into con CHARLES ROSENSTEEL,

tact With the tie. JOHN PFOUTZ.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

